1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for restoring data, which is suitable for use in an apparatus of restoring music files or image files that are deleted from a recording medium such as a hard disk, a memory card, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional audio visual (AV) systems for home or vehicle use, a medium for recording music may be a compact disk (CD), a mini disk (MD), a cassette tape, or the like. A medium for recording images may be a video tape, a digital versatile disk (DVD), or the like. Recently, a hard disk has also been used as a medium for recording music or images.
In the case of using the hard disk, data on music or images is recorded or stored in a file thereof. When the data on music or images is recorded on the hard disk in the file format, such a file may be manipulated on a personal computer. This enables music files or image files recorded on the hard disk in the AV system to be downloaded into the computer, and to be optionally edited on the computer.
Conventionally, a removable recording medium, such as a memory card, a rewritable CD or DVD, or the like, is used to indirectly download files from the AV system into the computer. Recently, a new system has been proposed in which the AV system and the computer are connected to each other through a local area network (LAN), so that a file recorded on the hard disk in the AV system can be directly manipulated from the computer. Also, another AV system has been proposed in which a hard disk itself is detachably mounted on the AV system body, and the hard disk after being removed from the body can be connected to the computer.
In cases where the music files or image files recorded onto the hard disk in the AV system are directly recognizable (viewable) from the computer, not only editing of the file, but also deletion thereof may be easily performed. Thus, the file recorded on the hard disk in the AV system is carelessly deleted from the computer. Thereafter, such music or images will not be able to be reproduced.
In cases where a file is indirectly downloaded from the hard disk of the AV system into the personal computer via the memory card or the like, an original file still remains in the hard disk. Even if the file downloaded into the computer is carelessly deleted, the AV system permits reproduction of the music or images without problems. On the other hand, when directly manipulating the hard disk in the AV system, the original file is carelessly deleted itself, so that the file will not be able to be reproduced.
Thus, under the assumption that the file is carelessly deleted despite the user's intentions, a backup copy of the file should be preferably created. The backup copy is to be made in a recording medium (in many cases, a hard disk in the personal computer) that is different from the hard disk in the AV system. Conventionally, a device has been proposed that is designed to eliminate the trouble of backup management of contents, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-366164.
In the foregoing prior art, however, although the trouble of backup management is alleviated, certain backup work still needs to be performed by a user. When the deleted file is intended to be restored, predetermined restoring work must be disadvantageously carried out by connecting the hard disk in the AV system to the personal computer as the backup side.
It should be noted that when file deletion is performed on the hard disk, contents of data are not deleted, only management information (FAT: File Allocation Tables) concerning access to the data is rewritten. Therefore, manipulation of this FAT makes it possible to restore the deleted file. This restoring method, however, requires special expertise as well as troublesome work, which leads to a problem that the file cannot be easily restored.